Susan Leach DeBlasio
Class of ’66 President & Board Chair
At Classical, Susan learned that the power of an idea is the greatest force and that words, carefully considered and crafted, can help frame thought and create infinite possibilities. She credits the critical thinking demanded by her teachers during her years at Classical with inspiring her to become a lifelong learner.
Susan believes that education can engender the motivation and tools young people need to achieve and wend their way through the variety of challenges they will face in today’s world, and that Classical can help them develop into tomorrow’s effective and ethical global leaders.
A past president of both the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Rhode Island Bar Foundation, Susan practices corporate, health care, and construction law at Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C. in Providence and Boston and is a frequent presenter on the topics of business law, practice management, and legal ethics. She is a recipient of the Bar Association’s Ralph P. Semonoff Professionalism Award, Judge Florence K. Murray Award, and Award of Merit, and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Susan’s main vocation is community engagement and developing innovative ways to serve and enrich the Rhode Island community. Currently, Susan is on the Board of Directors of the Quonset Development Corporation and the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, and is a member of the Rhode Island Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline. Susan is a past president of the URI Hillel Foundation, past chair of the Rhode Island Foundation Professional Advisory Council, and past vice chair of The Miriam Hospital,
Susan is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wheaton College, and received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and her M.B.A. from Providence College.
Susan loves the beach, the outdoors, life in Providence with her husband, an eye surgeon, and friends, and especially spending time with her daughter and her family.